Page 18 of From the Start

Eli grunts. “We tied. I don’t understand how we tied.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Maybe because your ‘idea’ was stolen from Paisley.”

Every time you complete a task during the escape room quest, you have to drink a shot of moonshine. Except there’s actually no requirement for each participant to drink a shot. The rule is, the shots have to be drunk.

It’s a loophole Paisley discovered. I knew they cheated last year! She made the unfortunate mistake of telling Eli about it.

When he told us about the loophole, Zane and Miles volunteered to drink all of the shots of moonshine so that Rhett, Jaxon, and Eli would be sober enough to answer the escape room questions.

Jaxon glares at Zane. “We would have won outright if you hadn’t tried to answer a question.”

“How was I supposed to know moonshine during Prohibition was made of corn?”

Jaxon purses his lips. “I told you the answer and you refused to listen.”

“But rye is a legitimate grain for whiskey making,” Zane insists.

“We weren’t discussing whiskey making.”

We arrive at the hidden door to the speakeasy and I knock. Trent opens the speakeasy window and scowls when he notices me keeping Miles upright.

“We’re here to celebrate,” Miles slurs.

The bouncer opens the door and motions us inside. “Don’t cause any trouble or Harper will kick you out.”

I glance toward the bar. Harper is scowling at us.

“We’ll behave,” I yell across the room toward her.

“Didn’t know the word behave was in your vocabulary.”

I shrug. “The teachers at school were always telling me to behave. Not sure what they meant.”

She shakes her head but her lips tip up. I accept victory for this round.

I half-drag, half-carry Miles to our usual table. We pass the women from the brewery on the way.

“Losers!” Sophia taunts.

“If we’re losers, you are as well since we tied,” Jaxon says.

She shakes a finger at him. “Don’t use your nerdy logic on me, whiskey boy. I’m not Blossom.”

Paisley frowns. “If you had let me answer the question on the main difference between distilling spirits and brewing beer, we would have won.”

Sophia’s nose wrinkles. “I was certain higher temperatures for distilling was the answer.”

Paisley purses her lips. “And you wonder why I insist you don’t set foot in my brewery.”

Miles pitches forward, but I manage to stop him before he face plants on the floor of the bar. “A little help here.”

Zane rushes to help and trips over his own feet. Rhett catches him and steers him toward our table.

Harper arrives with a bottle of moonshine and six glasses.

“Moonshine!” Miles cheers and Zane high-fives him. Except he misses Miles’s hand and ends up slapping his face.

“Why are you slapping me?” Miles asks as he rubs his cheek.